The Dutch monopoly on sports competitions and instant lotteries will remain in place, the Council of State announced yesterday.
The 54-year-old Dutch law on games of chance leaves the monopoly with the state which licenses the games to Lotto BV. That system was ended in 2014, but was reinstated by the Gaming Authority without opening up the competitions for general tender.
A lawsuit against the 2014 decision was started by gambling companies in the District Court in The Hague and in two judgments, both in 2016, the court ruled that the Gaming Authority should have opened up the procedure to other interested parties.
The Authority and Lotto BV appealed and in July of last year there was a court hearing and the Administrative Law Division of the Council of State reopened the investigation. In November another court hearing took place and in March of this year fresh documents from all interested parties were submitted.
The Administrative Law Division has ruled that the monopolies for sports competitions and scratch cards are justified, citing the Dutch policy on games of chance. This is to protect the consumer, combat illegality and crime and prevent addiction. So the licences granted to Lotto BV, it said, are lawful.
However, it has ruled that the Gaming Authority should explain why there should be only one licence for lottos as there are no major differences in the risk of addiction between lottos and charity lotteries. The authority will now take fresh decisions based upon the ruling.
